How to start a t-shirt business in 5 basic steps

Starting a t-shirt business might seem easy and fun, but behind the scene there is a huge arsenal of strategies that one should know if prepared to launch in the business. These 5 quick steps will help you understand some of the basic aspects on how to start a t-shirt business company selling custom t-shirt designs.

How to start a t-shirt business

1. DO YOUR RESEARCH AND PLANNING

When deciding to start a business selling t-shirts, you must have some basic information about the clothing industry. You must also have a solid business plan, to ensure profit to your business. Check out successful business brands for tips on how they succeeded, they might be very helpful. You must establish your budget before deciding to go too deep into the business. You might have huge plans, but a small budget, so make sure that you have enough resources to fulfill your expectations.

2. IDENTIFY YOURSELF AS A BRAND

Establishing your brand is definitely one of the most important foundations of your business, so you have to pay a lot of attention to this chapter. Your brand represents your whole image and the way you are perceived by the customers.

Your brand must have your distinctive personality, it must be unique, like you, and a brand that has a strong personality always stands out! Think of a strong name and a tagline to encapsulate your brand in one sentence, to make the crowd know what your business is about.

You have to figure out your goals and your target market to decide what kind of t-shirt designs you will get printed.

3. CREATE YOUR GRAPHIC DESIGNS

You have to do some research on the Internet to see the latest apparel trends, what the t-shirt community asks for. Now, after you have decided what to get printed, you should find a graphic artist. In case you are not a graphic designer yourself, you can find lots of talented designers on freelance sites like www.guru.com, www.elance.com, www.odesk.com or on t-shirt competition sites like DesignByHumans, Teetonic or TeeFury. You can find the style that suits you, by checking the artists’ past works and hire them.

If you have a lower budget, you can chose the cheapest possibility for your business: purchase royalty free vectors and create your own designs. You can find plenty to choose from here: www.tshirt-factory.com. The disadvantage is that the designs will not be unique, but you have to admit that it is much cheaper.

4. KNOW YOUR COMPETITION

You should always keep an eye on the other t-shirt design companies you’ll be competing with. You should check their designs, their pricing and promotions. You should learn from them, not copy them. If they are successful, so can you, but you have to come with fresh ideas in the same old market. Keep track of the successful ones and make sure to price your t-shirts appropriately. Consider the costs incurred in making T-shirts, such as material, printing and marketing.

5. FIND A PRINTING COMPANY AND A BLANK T-SHIRT PROVIDER

The blank t-shirts for printing must be achieved from the company that you find most appropriate. This will be your physical product, and your choice will reflect very strongly upon your brand. There are some websites that accept t-shirt designs, and they will print these for you on demand. www.Jakprint.com and www.Storenvy.com are two great printing companies.

There are plenty of different types of t-shirts, but you have to make a decision based on your kind of t-shirt designs and target market. For instance you can go for Tultex, American Apparel, Anvil, Next Level, Alstyle, Bella, Bay Island and many others. The t-shirt thickness should also be important when you chose your blank t-shirt type. The thickness ranges from 120gr to 200gr, and the ideal is 180gr.